22 (A/N: this is a filler I felt needed to be done. It's more based on the relationship between himself and Katherine's father. Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming. ? )

Katherine POV

After Jethro dropped me in the pool, everyone scattered pretty quickly. His team bid us a good day and left for their homes. Tony claimed he had a date and Tim and Abby were off to a birthday party. Dad and Jackson headed out with the girls to see Paddington Bear at the Cinema. Their last outing before they head home to Stillwater tomorrow and the girls head back to school and myself to work on Monday. I left Jethro downstairs to tidy up while I enjoyed a hot shower to get warm after my unscheduled dip in the pool.

After my hot shower, sitting on Jethro's bed wrapped in a towel he comes in.

"Oh Kat honey, I love it when your mad. Just not at me."

"Why? What made you think it'd be funny?" Even though it was pretty funny.

"I told you." He grins cockily at me "it's a little fantasy. You and water."

"Really?" I ask. I've just realised that I'm putty in the arms of Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"Have we got time for a quickie before they're home?" Looking at the clock, we have an hour or so.

Mickey POV

I can't focus on the movie. I couldn't even tell you what it's about. Kinda hard to stop your mind from wondering about the day's events.

I'm not as naive as Katherine and Jethro think. I knew they'd been seeing each other casually at high school. No daughter is ever as well behaved as their fathers think. But it seems like there's a lot of their lives I don't know about. Jackson seemed just as surprised as me.

There is a photo on Jacksons mantle at his home of Katherine and Jethro at a dance in 1998. She is wearing this big, beautiful smile and looks truly content to be Jethro's arms. There's no space between them and they're both so carefree. It's in a beautiful wooden hand carved frame. Around the edge it reads 'a best friend isn't someone who's just always there for you. It's someone who understands you a bit better than you understand yourself.' Homecoming 1998 LJG & KF . Today, I noticed this same photo and frame but in a larger size in the living room at Jethro's house. There's a few family photos of the twins and there's a small one of the day the twins were born. The quote reads 'Two angels sent from heaven above. Double the blessings and twice the fun.' LJG & KF in this, together forever

Heading up the guest rooms to tuck the girls in, I pass Jethro's room. The doors open so I poke my head in. They're sound asleep together cuddled up in bed and I ask myself why he hasn't made an honest woman out of my baby girl. The passage way is littered with frames all hand carved with the same wood and staining. Most of them have quotes with initials and dates. The one opposite the guest room is my favourite photo I've seen so far. They would of been no more than 6 years old. Sitting under the old oak tree out the back of Jacksons house. Side by side not touching sharing a book. The quote reads ' Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave and impossible to forget' LJG & KF 1987 ?ￂﾠ

Jethro must have made all these frames by hand. He has always had a talent for working with wood. They must have taken hours with the pain-staking details and attention. We all know that the infamous basement is off limits because it's currently the lumberyard. Yes, I must speak with him.

Gibbs POV

"Mickey?" I ask. I heard a noise and it woke me out of my deep, restful sleep. "Everything ok?" I ask again.

"These are amazing. When did you do these?" He replies not really taking his eyes off the frame of us as kids under the old oak tree at dads.

"Here and there. Over the years."

"Ever decide to retire NCIS, you could make a tidy sum." I laugh quietly and remember Kat said the exact same words to me 8 years ago.

"You know, you and Kat are more alike than you think. She said the exact same words ten years ago."

Heading downstairs to check all the windows and doors are locked before settling in for the night, it occurs to me that Mickey Fitzgerald just said something genuinely nice about me.

"Jethro?" Looking up Mickey is standing there. "Got a minute?"

"Sure, drink?" I ask offering a bourbon out of the top of the locked cupboard. "What's on your mind?"

"You and my daughter? Is it serious?" Straight to the point. I like that.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Are you together or not? I know about the kissing. Both Lucy and Zoe told us separately. A moment before, upstairs I poked my head in. It looked like you and Katherine were snuggling pretty tight there."

"Mickey, Katherine had just been mugged. It was a light kiss to reassure her she was ok. We're still pretty good friends, as for the cuddling in bed. What I'm a big teddy bear. I love to snuggle. Kat said she wasn't feeling well. I have been trying to make her feel better all night." He just stared at me. Trying to process what I've said. Yeah, I'll admit that if some poor smuck told me this about one of my daughters, I'd think about decking him too.

"One more question, before I leave this conversation with more questions than answers. Don't answer me, just think about it. If you two have the kind of relationship where you can sleep in the same bed, kiss and cuddle without issues including a romp or two. Why haven't you made it official yet? I'd be honoured to have you for a son in law one day. " he got up and left. I'm still stuck on making it official. Let alone the fact that Michael Fitzgerald - self proclaimed Leroy Jethro Gibbs hater, wants me to be his son in law.

A huge smile spreads all over my face as I down the last of my bourbon and crawl back into my warm bed with Kat Fitzgerald by my side.